My name is Alena Gabel and I’m an intern in estimating this summer with Alberici. I worked as an intern last summer as well on the Washington University Medical Center (WUMC) Campus Renewal Project in St. Louis.
I grew up in a town about 30 minutes south of Toledo, Ohio and I went to a small, rural high school. I chose to attend Purdue University to study Civil Engineering because buildings fascinated me. I came to love the management side through a program called EPICS at Purdue. EPICS stands for Engineering Projects in Community Service and it allows students to work on real-life projects while completing their undergraduate degree. I completed three semesters as my team’s project manager and decided that I wanted to look for an internship that involved construction management. The summer after my sophomore year, I began an internship with Alberici.
My internship last summer at the WUMC project taught me so much about myself, about Alberici, and about the construction industry. The welcoming and warm environment that the employees created was amazing. I always felt comfortable asking questions and I was eager to do more work. I was exposed to all parts of a project from the cost, to management, to scheduling, to the buyout process (and back!). At WUMC, I was able to assist with the buyout process with Alberici acting as the General Contractor, so we set bid due dates, received the bids, interviewed candidates, and then ultimately selected the sub-contractor that would complete each work package. I learned that I loved the fast-paced work style of the job site and that I loved having a responsibility in many different aspects of the project.
I chose an internship in estimating at headquarters for this summer because I wanted to see the process of preparing and bidding on projects. I chose to stay with Alberici for a second summer because of the wonderful experience I had before and the people that I have met. Even after only a few days, I can tell how fast-paced and exciting estimating is and I’m thrilled to see what the summer entails!
Stay tuned for further updates from Alena as she continues her estimating internship this summer.